Streetwalker (album)
“Streetwalker” is the second studio album by duo “Babyface”. The album was released on October 14, 2020, through Atlantic Records. Incorporating a base core of R&B, pop and soul music, Melanie wanted the album to take fans through a journey from beginning to end while not only being for her, but relatable to all the fans who stuck by her though her years in depression, and to serve as the "soundtrack to peoples' lives". It serves as the duo’s album after “We Are... Babyface”. A deluxe edition of the album featuring 4 bonus tracks was released simultaneously alongside the twelve-track standard edition. JoJo co-wrote every song on the album while also vocal producing every song. The album was Melanie’s last album release under Babyface’s name, as she left both the group and Atlantic in August 2021 to form her own label under Interscope Records. Babyface called upon the likes of Josh "Igloo" Monroy, Jussifer, Rock Mafia, Matt Friedman, Oscar Holter and MNEK as well as others, to handle production for the album. Melanie had recorded several incarnations of a second album while still contracted under her previous labels since the release of their debut that were ultimately shelved and scrapped in December 2019. The album had then begun production again from scratch and was re-written and recorded over a one-year period, with majority of the album being recorded in mid-2019. Amongst those included are collaborations with rappers Wiz Khalifa and Remy Ma, in addition to her friend, Canadian singer Alessia Cara who featured Zella in her video for "Scars to Your Beautiful" who features on a song called “Pay The Price". Occasionally the album dips into other genres such adult contemporary and soul music. Streetwalker was promoted with live renditions of the album's songs during the Streetwalking The World Tour. The album was also preceded by the release of the lead single, a Matt Friedman and Oscar Holter of Wolf Cousins production called “Unoriginal", featuring American rapper and Atlantic Records label mate Remy Ma. The song became moderate success. "Pay The Price", "Hell." and "Music" all served as promotional singles leading up to the album's release. Upon its release, the album received generally favorable reviews from music critics, some noting that the album became Babyface’s "bold coming-of-age statement" that helped cement her maturity and vocal growth since her previous album. Streetwalker debuted on the US Billboard 200, Current Albums & Top Digital Albums chart at number 6, number 4 and number 2 respectively with 25,000 album-equivalent units, of which 19,000 were traditional album sales. A vinyl LP edition of the album was made available on February 3, 2022. Background Senior Vice President of A&R at Atlantic Records at the time, Aaron Bay-Schuck orchestrated the deal and was instrumental to Babyface’s signing with the record label. Zella then began working on their second studio album for the label, However on January 9, 2019 it was announced that Schuck would be leaving his position at Atlantic and was appointed the new President of A&R for Interscope Geffen A&M Records thus leaving Babyface without an A&R at the label. In an interview with idolator, Babyface’s Melanie spoke about how the change affected the albums development stating "The A&R that signed me, Aaron Bay-Schuck, left and went to Interscope... He called me and was like, 'I have this thing. I don’t wanna leave you. I don’t wanna lose you. But I need to go.' I said, 'I completely understand,' but then I was left at Atlantic again and just kind of didn’t know what to do. So I was given a lot of songs, I was recording a lot of things that didn’t feel completely 100% authentic to me. But then after losing my father and going on tour and going through that experience, I got back in the studio at the beginning of this year and was like, 'I’m a soul singer. If I’m not coming from my heart, what am I doing?' I was just going through the motions a little bit because I wanted my shit to come out so bad. I was trying to make other people happy" Following the end of 2018, Melanie took a 6-day rest from work during the first week of January, where JoJo booked a hotel and spent time with herself and re-evaluated her life. As a result, Melanie was unhappy with the approach the album was taking and decided to "take control" and begun re-recording and re-writing the entire album to fit her new feelings and emotions. This resulted in the Tringle becoming its own stand-alone project with majority of the albums re-recordings taking place over a six-month period at the top of 2019, with only a few tracks from earlier Tringle recording sessions making it onto the final album, "I Am." and "Good Thing.". From September 9 to September 15, 2019, Zella uploaded short videos of her singing each song from the album on her Instagram account, revealing the track listing of the album. A vinyl LP edition of the album was made available through JoJo's official web-store. Conflict And Title Changes In mid-2018, Melanie revealed that the album, titled All I Want Is Everything, was scheduled for a fourth quarter release that year, to coincide with her grandfather’s birthday. The title was taken from the self-penned title track, which sums up her feelings about what she wants in life and how she can go about getting it as being an "inspirational anthem for everyone who has struggled and strives for more". The song is featured on her first mixtape Can't Take That Away From Me which was released on September 7, 2010 exclusively to Rap-Up.com. Album Artwork On September 7th, 2020, just over a month away from the album's release, Melanie revealed the album artwork via her social media accounts and announced the album would be available for pre-order on September 16, 2020. Unlike Melanie’s previous albums which both included a deluxe edition album with separate or modified artwork, a standard edition of the album artwork had been serviced to all markets. Melanie’s younger self appears on the cover, "looking fierce as ever" design created by Nick Malvone. In early 2020 Melanie shot the album packaging photoshoot with LA based photographer Brooke Nipar. Photos from the shoot and a series of promotional/press photos were gradually released online, while others were released with the revamping of both Zella’s and Melanie’s official website. Promotion On June 6, 2019, prior to any official announcements for release of Babyface’s second album. It was announced that Zella would be joining Fifth Harmony on their 7/27 Tour as a special guest opener in promotion for their second studio album. The North American leg of the tour begun on July 27 in Manchester, New Hampshire before concluding on September 17 in Las Vegas. On July 27, 2019, Melanie uploaded a short video on her YouTube channel titled "Streetwalker. 10.14.20", previewing "Music" and revealing the album title and release date. On July 26, 2019, Zella debuted a short YouTube video that delivered a preview of new material to come from her forthcoming album. In it, scenes flash in and out, from present day to her past, showing what an impact music has had on her throughout the years. The video included a preview of a new emotional piano ballad titled "Help Me". A more upbeat snippet of a song appeared at the end of the video later revealed to be the lead single. The following day, Melanie announced the release of her new album through a shot of a pregnancy test and announced the first official lead single ”Unoriginal”, through her official Facebook page. That same day, the song was released to all digital retailers for purchase. Following the release, the songs accompanying music video debuted on Babyface’s official website the next day. Babyface performed "Unoriginal" for the first time live during her first stop on the 7/27 Tour closing her set with the song. Melanie also performed a clean acoustic version of the song on the Elvis Duran and the Morning Show on August 1, 2019, along with a cover of Shawn Mendes' "Treat You Better". On September 30, 2019, Zella made her first televised performance of the song along with Wiz Khalifa on MTV's newest music show. Singles The album's lead single "Unoriginal" featuring Remy Ma was teased by Melanie on July 26, 2019 in a promotional video previewing new music. The following day the single leaked in full online only hours before its release. The single was officially released as the lead single from the album on July 28, 2019. The music video, which was directed by Francesco Carrozzini, for the song was released on July 28, 2020, through JoJo's YouTube channel. The song debuted at number 40 on the US Pop Digital Songs Chart. Internationally, the song peaked at 104 on the UK Singles Chart and number 18 on he UK R&B Singles Chart. Promotional Singles Babyface’s triple single extended play III. (Tringle) was released on August 21, 201”. The three singles, "When Love Hurts", "Save My Soul" and "Say Love" Although originally intended to be the first three singles from the album that would each receive service to top 40 radio at different stages leading up to the impending album release. It was subsequently not included on the standard or deluxe editions of Streetwalker and instead used as a standalone project to promote the album. Babyface has also released “Pay The Price”, “Hell”, and ”Music” as promotional single. Critical Reception The album has received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, it has a score of 70 out of 100 based on 6 reviews. Entertainment Weekly writer Nolan Feeney gave the album a B+ and wrote that Zella’s "well-documented struggles and triumphs inform her long-awaited collaborative second studio album, Streetwalker, and they turn her tales of love, friendship, and family into one bold coming-of-age statement". Idolator writer Jon Reyes gave the album 4 out of 5 stars and wrote that Melanie is "sauntering in with Streetwalker sounding totally refreshed". Pitchfork writer Vanessa Okoth-Obbo gave the album 7 out of 10 stars and wrote that "Streetwalker sounds like an album that Babyface needed to make, and one that their fans were waiting for". Commercial Performance Streetwalker debuted at number six on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling 25,000 album-equivalent units, of which 19,000 were traditional album sales in its first week. It charted three spots lower and with significantly lower sales than their debut album. Streetwalker also debuted on the Current Billboard Albums & Billboard's Top Digital Albums chart at number 4 and number 2 respectively. In its second week Streetwalker dropped from number six to one hundred and eleven on the Billboard 200 on the week starting November 12, 2020. In its third week the album left the Billboard 200 chart. Tracklist # Unoriginal (ft. Remy Ma) # Top Of The World # Billboards # Entertainer # The Tiers (ft. Wiz Khalifa) # Pay The Price (ft. Alessia Cara) # Hell # Music # Change # Sleep With Me, I’m Feeling Sexy # Who # She Doesn’t Look Like Me Deluxe Tracklist 13. Sunflower 14. Typical 15. High On Your Highs And Lows 16. Do You Ever Think Of Me? Trivia Original album cover featuring only Melanie Martinez’s name. Category:Babyface Category:2020 Category:Albums Category:Melanie Martinez Category:Zella Day